Limitation under section 254(2) runs from the month an order is passed, not from receipt, making the recall application time-barred.

A miscellaneous application seeking recall of an ex parte appellate order under section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act was held time-barred. The statutory limitation runs for six months from the end of the month in which the order was passed, and the word "passed" was treated as distinct from "received" or "served". Limitation could not be extended by taking the date of receipt of the order into account. Even on a liberal approach, the date of upload did not save the application because it remained beyond the prescribed period. The application was therefore not maintainable.

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Issues: Whether the miscellaneous application seeking recall of the ex parte appellate order under section 254(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was barred by limitation, and whether the limitation period had to be computed from the date of receipt of the order instead of the end of the month in which the order was passed.

Analysis: Section 254(2) expressly provides a period of six months from the end of the month in which the order was passed. The expression used by the statute is "passed", and it was held to be distinct from "received" or "served". The limitation therefore could not be extended by reckoning time from the date on which the assessee received the order. Even on a liberal approach, the date of uploading of the order did not assist the assessee because the application was still beyond the prescribed period.

Conclusion: The miscellaneous application was barred by limitation and was not maintainable.

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